"Lyoto's a tough athlete and has shown it. It'll be a great fight. I think my brother's stronger and more talented. Shogun has an aggressive ground game, muay thai game, and hits like a heavyweight. I think he has the advantage, but of course Lyoto's really tough and must be respected, for sure."

-Murilo "Ninja" Rua tells Portal das Lutas that he believes his brother Mauricio "Shogun" Rua is stronger and more talented than UFC light heayvweight champion Lyoto Machida. The brazilian superstars will battle it out for Machida's title on Oct. 24 at UFC 104. 

Machida (15-0) is fresh off a demolition of former undefeated light heavyweight champion Rashad Evans. The karate practitioner has been as dominant as any fighter in the history of the UFC over his seven apperences with the organization; having yet to drop so much as a round in wins  Kazuhiro Nakamura, Sokoudjou.html'>Rameau Thierry Sokoudjou.html">Sokoudjou, Tito Ortiz, Thiago Silva in addition to the aformentioned Evans.

Rua (18-3) has one two straight since dropping his highly anticipated UFC debut to former light heavyweight champion Forrest Griffin. Rua has battled two serious knee injury's since coming over to the UFC from PRIDE where he was once considered the best light heavyweight fighter in the world. Many have wondered if Rua will ever be able to regain the athleticism and explosiveness that marked his status as one of the world's best pound-for-pound, but his performance in a first round knockout at UFC 97 against Chuck Liddell is certainly a step in the right direction. 

Make sure to check back with us the day of the event for free, live, round-by-round coverage of UFC 104 right here at FiveKnuckles.com! Join expert analyst Mike Williams as he takes you through the entire fight card blow-by-blow and then keep it right here for all the post-fight news and notes you can handle!